My HealthySELF: Cynthia Nixon Opens Up About Rosacea and Her Twice-a-Week Workout

The Internet is buzzing about HBO's hip new show Girls, but we'll always have a special place in our hearts for the original NYC besties: Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. Which is why we were super excited when we got the chance to talk to Cynthia Nixon, aka Miranda Hobbes, herself.

And how could we not be starstruck? In addition to her SATC stint, Nixon has appeared on Law & Order, House, The Big C and even made a recent (hilarious) cameo as herself on 30 Rock. She's won SAG awards, Emmys, a Tony and more.

The best part? Nixon keeps it real. In fact, she recently partnered with the National Rosacea Society for an online public service announcement featuring Nixon opening up about living with the pesky skin condition.

"It can be really embarrassing and frustrating," she says. While more than 16 million Americans are estimated to have rosacea, a Gallup survey found that 78 percent of Americans have no knowledge of the skin issue, according to the National Rosacea Society. Nixon hopes speaking out will help more women learn about this condition and ways to restore their naturally beautiful skin. "If you just know the right things to do and the right things to avoid, it's actually easy to deal with," she says.

Nixon didn't stop at the skin care, though. She talked about everything from her super efficient workout (two days a week and she's done!) to her quirky relaxation tip to her favorite trick to slim in flash.

(photo by Steven Sebring)

What do you do to keep your skin healthy?

I’ve tried so many products. And I would just be like, “Oh, it’s Tuesday, let me try this one! Oh it’s Wednesday, how about this?” And the thing that I realized is that certainly gentleness is really important. Moisturizing is really important. And consistency is really important. It’s all about gentleness and consistency rather than scrubbing and peeling and burning.

You’ve had to switch up your diet to avoid flare-ups. What has that meant for you?

I love spicy food. I didn’t give it up entirely, but I’d make sure that I’m not eating it, you know, the night before I have a big photo shoot or something like that. Not, you know, chili con carne with lots of tabasco the night before a photo shoot.

What is your go-to healthy breakfast?

I always like to start my morning with a good amount of fruit. I really like pineapple, particularly because of the enzymes that it has. Sometimes I have oatmeal. But if I’m feeling like I really want to be watching my weight more, then I definitely do a protein, like an omelet, scrambled eggs or some smoked salmon.

What’s your fitness routine like?

What I do for exercise sort of depends on what’s happening in the rest of my life. We have a new baby who’s 14 months old, and he requires a lot of attention, so I don’t have a lot of time left over for exercise. Before he was born, I was doing a lot more yoga, but that can be kind of time-consuming. But now what I’m doing is a thing called slow burn, which is, under the supervision of a trainer, I get on machines and I move very large amounts of weight very slowly. The great thing about that is that it’s really time-effective. I can only do that — at most — two times a week for half an hour each time. Literally my body can’t do any more than that. If you have a really busy schedule, it doesn’t take a lot of time, and you get a lot of bang for your buck that way.

What is your go-to way to de-stress at the end of the day?

Sometimes I think, “Oh, I’m so exhausted, I have to go to sleep right away.” But if I do that, then all of the busy-ness and the stress of my day sort of follows me to sleep. So I feel like it’s really helpful to do something at the end of the day to decelerate. It might be a crossword puzzle, it might be a book that I’m reading. Or I find that lying in my bed with my feet up on the wall or on the headboard — that’s a sure kind of relaxation thing to get you ready for sleep.

Does your ideal Saturday night look like Miranda’s?

It’s totally different. I mean, I’m a big fan of the theater, so a real treat for me is to go and see a play. But I would say I’m certainly not someone who thinks about being out on a Saturday night. You know, I like to be home with my kids, and we rent a movie and sit around and watch. Even when I was doing Sex and the City, I’m much more of a homebody than a girl out on the town.

What are your healthiest and least healthy habits?

Oh, that’s such a hard question. I think my least healthy habit is running around too much. And I think I’m getting better about it as I’m getting older. I used to think, I’ve got an hour! Let’s do this project that I’ve been meaning to get through for three years. I find that when I’m moving fast, I might be accomplishing a lot of things, but I’m probably not checking in with myself emotionally about how I’m really doing. Now, if I find a little pocket of free time, I don’t necessarily use that to try to accomplish things and load up my already busy schedule. I try and protect that as a little pocket of free time.